


Random One-Shots

by Dollface_AnonymousAngel



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-07-16 17:04:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7276480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dollface_AnonymousAngel/pseuds/Dollface_AnonymousAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically a collection of one shots I've written, none are smut, most involve Steve dying... Why that's a reoccurring theme in my one shots, I've no idea, but I'm working on not writing it as much. These are all cross-posted on Wattpad. Actually they're posted there originally but I'm slowly trying to transfer all my work here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mute

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted to Wattpad 9/23/2013

"Answer me!" The voice screams. Between the blindfold and handcuffs, I'd assume they want to keep me in place.

"I said ANSWER ME!" He screams. I can only assume it's a he-

Pain interrupts my thoughts.

"She can't." A second voice chimes in. "She's mute."

Finally, someone who realizes the reason why I'm not answering. I feel the cool, sharpness of a blade trace the scar on my throat.

"Yes, well, she's about to be dead if we don't get an answer." He says. The second voice gasps.

"Don't you understand? She can't speak!" It says. This voice is kind, and higher pitched. It belongs to a female.

"Shut up Stephanie!" He growls. I was right.

"NO! I will not allow you to kill an innocent girl just because she can't speak!" Stephanie yells. I hear the squishy thud of a fist meeting skin, and assume he hit Stephanie. The cool knife blade is up against my throat again in a matter of seconds.

"One last chance- answer me or I'll slit your pretty little throat. Where is Captain Rogers?" The man asks. I lift my shoulders in a weak shrug.

"Turn around Bucky." A familiar voice asks. Well, looks like 'Bucky' has his answer. Captain Rogers is in this room.

I tune out whatever conversation is going on- determined to find a way out of the handcuffs. I'm sure if I had a voice I would have been crying out in pain, but no, I'm silently suffering while I attempt to snap the chain holding the handcuffs together.

Something warm drips down my hand and onto the floor. Blood...

My blindfold is ripped off and I wince at the sudden change. There's a girl kneeling in front of me, she looks like Steve.

I assume this is Stephanie.

"Don't worry, I can fix that." She murmurs, seeing the cut on my wrist from me yanking on the handcuffs. She unlatches (?) the cuffs and they drop to the floor.

I stare at the Stephanie warily, not sure if I can trust her.

The sound of someone crying out in pain distracts me and my head whips around to find the source. Steve is standing, looking a little bit beat up, and there's a man on the ground, unconscious. I practically leap from the chair and run over to Steve, throwing my arms around him in what qualifies as a bear hug from me. He chuckles softly.

"Are you okay Gwen?" He asks. I nod once then shake my head and hold my hands up. Steve winces at the sight of my bloody wrists.

_Can we leave now?_ I sign, eager to get away from my kidnappers.

"Of course we can." Steve murmurs. I smile at him and start towards the only door in the room. I don't hear the footsteps behind me, or the click of a gun being loaded.

I do hear the gun firing and Steve crying out in shock and pain.

I do hear my scream.

I do hear the first noise I've made in thirteen years.

_"NO!"_


	2. Threats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted to Wattpad sometime in 2013, was edited and deemed fit for view 8/3/2015

I struggle with my handcuffs, dropping the bobby pin I've been using in my attempt to unlock them. The Winter Soldier, Bucky, looks at me.

"Trying to escape little sister?" He asks. I feign surprise.

"Who, me? You know I can't use my powers with these cuffs on." I say. "How would I be able to unlock them without my powers or the keys?"

He walks closer. Damn.

"You were wearing bobby pins earlier." He says. "Now they're gone."

I laugh bitterly. "Yeah, I know. Why don't you ask your precious agents why. I bet one of them could answer you."

He shakes his head. "They have orders to not harm you. Yet."

I swing my leg out, kicking him where it hurts in an attempt to buy time.

He slaps me. My own brother, slaps me!

"Son of a bitch." I mutter. I see the regret in his eyes.

_This isn't Bucky, Annabelle. This isn't your brother. This is the Winter Soldier, a HYDRA agent._ I remind myself.

"It's okay." I say sotfly. "I know that wasn't you Bucky. It wasn't you."

I've managed to free one hand. Before the Winter Soldier can react, I command shadows to bond him.

"I'm sorry-" I sob, "But I have to keep you restrained until you regain control." Since when was I crying?

I free my other hand and the handcuffs drop to the floor. "I'm going to go now, but you still won't be able to move. I'm sorry. But I promise I'll come back, okay?"

I don't wait for his answer when I shadow walk to the room Steve is in. He's tied to a chair and looks like he's unconscious.

I try untying the ropes.

"Won't work." Steve mutters. "Only HYDRA agents can untie them."

I frown. "I'll be back." I promise him, shadow walking back to the room I was in. I form a knife and make the shadows restraining Bucky- restraining the Winter Soldier hold him up. I hold the knife to his throat.

"Now listen to me, and listen well because I will only say this once. I'm going to shadow walk us to Steve, then you will untie him and give the orders to let us go, and I will let you live." I growl, my eyes turning silver. "If you agree to this, then I will command the shadows to let you go. But be warned, if you attempt to betray me I will slit your throat without a moment's hesitation. Understood?"

He nods slowly.

"Good." I say, giving the shadows the silent command to release him. I grab his shoulder and shadow walk the both of us to the room Steve is in. Bucky- The Winter Soldier start to untie him.

I tighten my grip on my knife.

Once Steve is untied, the Winter Soldier turns to me.

"Happy, sister?" He asks. I nod curtly.

"Thank you." I say sincerely. I'm still holding the knife with a tight grip, standing close enough to him for me to be able to kill him if I need to.

"Anna!" Steve yells, warning me of something. A fist meets my face and spots dance across my vision. Automatically, I carry out my threat. Bucky drops to the floor, a bloody smile on his throat.

"Oh- oh my God." I cry, realizing what I just did. My knife clatters against the floor. I'm sobbing.

"Annabelle-" Steve starts.

"I killed him. My own brother!" I wail, crumpling to the floor. What happens next is a blur, but I think Steve picks me up and carries me out of the base.

At one point, I must have shadow walked us back to my house because I wake up in my bed the next morning but it didn't matter to me because it was just one more place I'd leave behind.


	3. Monster Inside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted to Wattpad 1/8/2014
> 
> Reoccurring character here: Annabelle (Barnes). Not all of the one shots involving her are in the same timeline

"Come on guys! Can't I at least have the ability to move?" I call out to the guards near my cell. I'm handcuffed to a pole in a cell at HYDRA.

Epic fail.

"Shut up." A guard says.

"No. I want to at least be able to move! It's bad enough I'm in a cell in the one place I hate the most." I snap. Not my brightest idea.

One of the guards walks over and unlocks the handcuffs. I rub my wrists, wincing a little.

"Finally! Jeez, were you trying to cut off the circulation to my hands?" I say. The guard doesn't reply, he just goes back to his chair.

"What, too shy to talk to me?" I tease.

_Annabelle, shut up. You're only gonna make things worse._ My subconscious tells me.

_But I'm bored._ I mentally whine.  _And teasing him is fun!_   _Oh God, I'm going insane, aren't I?_

_Well, talking to yourself is a sign of insanity..._

I start laughing, realizing I've gone off the deep end. The guard starts talking to someone over his earpiece, I think he's asking for someone to come shut me up.

To my surprise, the agent that responds is none other than my boyfriend, Steve Rogers. Shit.

Steve pins me against the wall and I start laughing hysterically, like I always do when I'm scared of my mind.

"Stop laughing." He says coldly.

"S-sorry. I laugh when I'm scared or nervous.. or both." I say, still laughing. "Y'know, it's not really something  I can control."

He smacks me, trying to shut me up. I pause, not comprehending what just happened.

"You hit me." I murmur, nearly silent. My hair and eyes start turning purple, letting the world know that the other side of me- the bad side- is making an appearance. I wrap my hands around Steve;s wrists, tightening my grip until I hear bones break. Steve cries out, HYDRA's brain washing having worn off when I broke his wrists.

"Annabelle!" He says, trying to pull his wrists away. My hair and eyes are completely purple by now, not that I'd be able to tell.

"Don't ever hit me again." I growl, my voice taking on a dark and sadistic tone. He looks at me, fear showing in his expression. Some part of me feels guilt, but it's masked and over-ruled by the other me.

"Annabelle please." He begs. Suddenly, my mind is my own again and my actions truly register in my mind. I drop his wrists and cover my mouth, horrified.

"O-oh my God. I'm so sorry." I whisper. Steve backs up, still afraid of me. I see the hurt, betrayed look in his eyes and shadow travel back to my apartment.

_"I'm a monster."_


	4. Monster Inside (pt 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted to Wattpad 1/8/2014
> 
> Trigger warning for suicide

"Agent Barnes, I'd like to know why one of my best agents is terrified to be within a ten foot radius of you." Fury says. I look down at my hands, noticing that I'm visibly trembling.

"I- I-" I stammer. I can feel the stares of the agents surrounding me.

"Spit it out already!" Agent Barton hisses, annoyed with me. I flinch, afraid my other side will make an appearance.

"ImayormaynothavelostcontrolandbrokeSteve'swrists-wellitwasn'treallymeitwasmyothersidethatI'mterrifiedof." I say, all in one breath. The look on Fury's face tells me he caught every word.

"You WHAT?" He yells. I recoil, crying.

"I- I didn't- I mean- I couldn't really control-" I sob. "It just sort of- I can really lose it when- I'm sorry!"

Something cold clicks around my wrists. "Agent Annabelle Barnes you are under arrest for harming an agent without fair cause." Director Fury starts saying. I tune him out as he reads my rights, sobbing hopelessly. I knew this would happen.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" An agent asks me, once I'm in my cell. I look up at him, still crying. I've stopped making noise though.

"I wasn't myself." I say coldly, silently begging for someone to listen- to hear the words I say. "Does anyone remember that Shadow Walkers are normally unstable? Ever think that my control slipped and I lost it for just a few minutes and hurt someone I care about?"

I can tell that the agent didn't hear me, wasn't listening. I lay down on the floor and close my eyes, feigning sleep.

_You're a horrible person_

_You don't deserve him, he's too good for you_

_You're a monster_

_You are a monster_

I slowly start to fall asleep.

When I wake up form a nightmare, I'm half-expecting Steve to be here to comfort me. Harsh reality sets in though and I'm left alone in this cold, empty cell. Nobody who can hear me cares, nobody that would care is here, this is all my fault- I caused this from one moment of losing control.

I caused this.

This is all on me, it's all my fault. My. Fault.

After that little realization, I fall back into the hell I call my dreams.

_He will never love you again, not after what you did to him. You're a monster, you don't deserve to live._

_**If only they could see the pain I felt.** _

_**If only they could see how broken I really am.** _

_**Their only clue if a purple tint in my hair and in my eyes.** _

_**But sometimes that doesn't even warn them, and they push to far.** _

_**One of these days, somebody's gonna get hurt- and I'm going to be there when they do.** _

All of these what if's play through my head.

What if, next time it isn't Steve's wrists?

What if, next time I do worse then break a bone?

What if, next time I don't go back to normal- I stay in that terrifying other side of mine?

I look up, looking for cameras. When I discover that the only one in the room can't see me if I sit directly under it, I move. No reason for them to see what I'm doing.

I form a blade out of shadow energy, watching as it solidifies and becomes real. Then I take that blade to my skin, making careful lines.

I can't take it, I can't handle this, I can't continue to fight.

So I quit, I give up.

As the blade falls from my hand, a note flutters to the ground.

And the world fades to a peaceful oblivious for the last time.

_Forgive Me_


	5. Runaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SONG FIC THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE SOMEONE DYING!!!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted to Wattpad 4/2/2015
> 
> Also, the age for Bucky is WAAAAY not researched and wrong so... yeah...

**_I’ve know it for a long time_ **   
**_Daddy wakes up to a drink at nine_ **   
**_Disappearing all night_ **   
**_I don’t wanna know where he’s been lying_ **

James was my best friend. Well, my only friend, but that didn't matter.

I grew up with an alcoholic father and an absent mother. My dad lied about his drinking problem. Lied to the police, to my teachers, and to the child services workers. He lied to James. I think he lied to my mom, which made her leave before I could remember her.

From what I've heard, she was a nice woman. But, I couldn't find her, and I didn't love her.

But James... I loved James. So when my dad first hit me, that's when he proposed the idea of leaving.

_**I know what I wanna do** _   
_**Wanna runaway, runaway with you** _   
_**Gonna grab clothes, six in the morn-in’ go** _

James was older than I was. He was twenty when I was seventeen. The day I showed up at our usual meeting place, a small, nearly obsolete cafe, with a bruise across my cheekbone, he was beyond livid.

I was never very good with make-up, but I knew enough to make the bruise look lighter than it was. Boy, did it piss James off when he found out that the bruise was worse than I said.

The day I left my dad was drunk out of his mind. I left in the morning, and he was still drunk from the night before. I told him not to expect me to be home for dinner.

_**How long you leaving** _   
_**Well dad just don’t expect me back this evening** _   
_**Oh it could take a bit of time to heal this** _

I walked for a long time. James didn't know I was leaving so soon and he lived in a different city, so it was a few days before he found out. I tried to hitchhike, to no avail, but I loved him so I kept walking.

I could never keep him from my mind. Not for long at least. I had never wanted anything more than I wanted to be safe for him. I wanted to be safe so he could be happy. Even if it wasn't me who he was happy with.

I didn't walk to his house. Not at first. Not for a long time. I waited until I knew nobody was looking anymore.

_**Its been a long day, thumb on side of the roadway, but** _   
_**I love him from my skin to my bones** _   
_**But I don’t wanna live in his home** _   
_**There’s nothing to say cos he knows** _   
_**I’ll just runaway and be on my own** _

My dad cried the day I left. Standing in the kitchen with a bag on my back and all my money in my pocket, staring him down and telling him I wouldn't be back for a long time and nothing else nearly killed me. But I was raised to keep my mouth shut and that's what I intended to do.

He knew I was leaving for good. He begged me to stay. I told him to get his act together and I'd come back. With everything I owned in a bag or in my pocket, I lied straight to his face.

I never expected to be home for dinner.

_**I’ve never seen my dad cry** _   
_**Cold as stone in the kitchen light** _   
_**I’ll tell you it’s about time** _   
_**But I was raised to keep quiet** _   
_**This is what I’m gonna do** _   
_**Gonna runaway, gonna make that move** _   
_**Gonna grab clothes and when it’s morn-in’ go** _   
_**How long you leaving** _   
_**Well dad just don’t expect me back this evening** _   
__**Oh it could take a bit of time to heal this  
** __**Its been a long day, thumb on side of the roadway, but  
** __**I love him from my skin to my bones  
** __**But I don’t wanna live in his home  
** _**There’s nothing to say cos he knows  
** _ __**I’ll just runaway and be on my own**

So I walked with my bag on my back and a cap on my head. My dad didn't like it, argued as I packed my clothes, but I didn't care. He promised to change but I knew he lied.

_**Backpack and a flat cap turned to the back** _   
_**As I packed my clothes up** _   
_**My dad wasn’t down with that plan to attack, intends to show love** _

Maybe my mom was a fool, maybe she fell for it for a while. But I wouldn't. I didn't want to run away, and maybe I should have stayed a little longer, but I knew the safe thing to do was to pack my things into a suitcase and leave.

Sure, things change, but my dad would always be the same. And maybe James would be no different, or maybe he would be my knight in shining armor, but until I figured it out, it was a wandering life for me.

_**I don’t wanna live this way** _   
_**Gonna take my things and go** _   
_**If things change in a matter of days** _   
_**I could be persuaded to hold on** _   
_**Mama was the same** _   
_**None of us are saints I guess that god knows that** _   
_**I don’t wanna runaway** _   
_**And one of these days I might just show that** _   
_**Put my home in a suitcase** _   
_**Tie both shoe laces and hope that** _   
_**Things change but for now I’ll leave town with a backpack on my shoulder** _

I found a note on my door three months after I left. It was from James. All it said was 'I know'.

  _ **I love him from my skin to my bones  
**_ _ **But I don’t wanna live in his home  
**_ _ **There’s nothing to say cos he knows  
**_ __ **I’ll just runaway and be on my own**


	6. Changed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lissa Croft, Agent of SHIELD, was sent to Russia on a mission. There was a threat that needed to be neutralized. Lissa was the perfect girl for the job- the perfect agent for the job. She had no ties to anyone, had powers that nobody knew about, and didn't care if she lived for died whilst completing a mission. But she didn't expect her target to be someone she swears she knows, but doesn't have any memories of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted to Wattpad 2/24/2014
> 
> Somewhat inspired by this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa3hrNEBP04

_"Agent Croft, you'll be staying here until you finish the mission. You're to go undercover as an enemy agent and befriend the target then bring him back to SHIELD,"_ Fury tells me over the comm unit.

"Understood sir," I mutter, looking around the small apartment.

_"You have a roommate- this roommate is the target. He isn't home right now,"_ Fury continues to explains,  _"He left to give you time to settle in."_

"That's nice..." I say sarcastically, spotting a door with a piece of paper taped to it. The paper says 'Lissa's Room'. Well, at least I have my own room.

Three hours later, after I've napped and unpacked my meager amount of belongings, my roommate comes home.

"I'm James."

That's the first thing he says to me. His name.

"I'm Lissa- b-but you already knew that... otherwise there wouldn't be a paper sign with my name on it..." I'm blushing furiously. Why does he affect me like this? I barely know the guy for sanity's sake! Now that I think about it, he does seem familiar...

James grins at me. "I only knew because of the email."

Email? What email?

One of the agents must have sent him an email- possibly a response to some add for a roommate.

"Right... I forgot about the email..." I murmur.

"That's alright. Sorry I didn't send an email back to you right away, I've been a bit busy," James says. I nod.

"Understandable."

My phone rings, stopping any further conversation. I grimace and dig my phone out of my pocket.

"Hello?" I ask, answering the call.

_"Lissa? Where are you?"_

"Who- who is this?" I stammer, not recognizing the voice.

_"It's me- it's Alex."_

"I'm sorry, I don't know anybody by that name." I lie before hanging up. I'm probably really pale, shaking nervously, and wide-eyed. How did Alex get my new phone number?

"Lissa, is everything okay?" James asks. I nod.

"Uhm, yeah. Yeah, everything's fine," I lie. James steps towards me and sets one hand on my shoulder. I almost consider breaking his hand, then remember that I'm not supposed to hurt him.

"You can talk to me," he murmurs.

"Just- issues with a guy that will easily be solved by me changing my phone number yet again," I admit quietly, "You don't need to worry about it."

He looks like he's going to say something, but I go back into my room before he can.

_Stop being such a baby Lissa. You know better than to get close to anyone._ I remind myself as I change into a pair of warm pajamas. After I change I grab my notebook off the tiny dresser and start writing.

_Day 1_

_I met the target today. His name is James. To be perfectly honest, the only thing different about him than most people is the fact that he has a bionic arm. He tries to hide it- that's been made obvious by the way he tugs at his sleeve. At first I thought it was because he had scars on that arm, but when his sleeve rode up a couple inches I saw metal. I guess Fury doesn't lie about everything. Then again, James might not even be a threat. He seems pretty nice, nice enough to make me feel guilty about the ending of this mission. I feel like I know him from somewhere... Anyways, it's almost midnight so I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight._

_-Lissa_

I hide the notebook under my pillow and lay down, falling asleep the minute my head hits the pillow- only to wake up to someone shaking me and the sound of someone screaming.

"Lissa, Lissa wake up it was just a nightmare," James says. Oh... it's me screaming.

The screaming stops and I let my eyes open. James has a red mark on his cheek.

"Do you always hit people that try to wake you up?" He asks.

"Oh sh-oot. I was gonna say shoot," I groan, "Yeah, I normally hit people that try waking me up. A bit of a reflex, I'm sorry." James grins.

"It's alright Liss," he says.

"I had a nightmare- sorry you woke up to me screaming. I normally wake up before-" I stop talking before I can start explaining my nightmare.

"Do you want to talk about it?" James asks. I shrug. Sure, I feel like I know him, but that doesn't mean I'm about to spill my secrets to the guy. But, talking about it normally helps... AGH!

"When I was little my mom and dad fought a lot. Like, all the time. It was horrible, but it was normal for them. One day, my dad went a little to far with the argument and my mom stabbed him. He died in twelve minutes, I remember becasue I counted. After that I ran- I don't remember much after that... my closest memory being my fifteenth birthday. But sometimes- sometimes I dream of things that seem so real, but I always manage to convince myself they're just dreams," I explain quietly. I remember my comm unit is still on and get up, motioning for James to be quiet. I carefully put the ear piece on the floor and smash it. "I worked for an agency called SHIELD. There's this girl tehre that can block memories... I'm starting to think she blocked the memories I seem to be lacking."

James is quiet for a minute, then walks out of my room. He comes back with a laptop.

"I wanna show you something," he murmurs, sitting next to me. He shows me a video- sitting in silence the entire time.

One the video has ended he starts talking.

"It was one of those days. Where it's a minute away from snowing, and there was this electricity in the air. You could almost hear it. That's the day I realized there was this entire life behind things... and this incredibly malevolent force that wanted me to know that there was no reason to be afraid.... ever. The video is a poor excuse, I know, but it helps me remember. I  _need_ to remember..."

Without thinking, I wrap my arms around James.

"I'll help you remember," I tell him. He leans down, leaving inches between our lips.

"Thank you..." Whatever else he was about to say, was left unspoken because I decide to close the space between our lips.

Essentially, I just decided to have my first kiss with a complete stranger... except he isn't a stranger. Those gaps in my memory, they're replaced with memories of me and James. Now, I know where I ran to after my mom killed my dad. Now, I know where I was until I was fifteen- until I joined SHIELD... and now I know where I belong.

It's here, with James. With Bucky...  the Winter Solider. Whatever you want to call him. He's who I belong with.


	7. Reap

 

You would think, if Death were human, he'd have black hair and only wear black and carry around a big, scary scythe that he used to reap souls, and be really old. But I'm don't and I'm not.

If you saw me walking down the street, the only weird thing you'd notice is I have a tattoo on my left arm, above my elbow. It's a scythe. You'd assume I wear gloves because I have poor circulation and my hands are always cold. You'd never think twice about the unassuming twenty three year old blonde girl who flinched away from physical contact.

If I were to introduce myself to you, the first thing you would learn is my name is Beth Thompson. The second thing I'd tell you, is I get cold easily and I love the sunrise. You'd never, ever learn that the tattoo on my arm means I'm the one who confronts you and leads you to the afterlife. I'm one of many, but one of few who dare to stray from the path.

I don't wear black and I don't carry a scythe. That's too old school.

From the day I was three, until today, I've worn gloves that allow me to touch people and things without killing them. Born into a family of reapers, I was raised to never take my gloves off unless there was a mark only I can see on someone's skin, and if I saw the mark I was to immediately reap them. I've done this since I can remember, purposely hunting out the reap mark that means it's this person's time to go. Every reap, every time. Until I met Steve.

-

The day I met Steve, I was living in Romania. The man in the apartment next to me was the Winter Solider, but didn't know that I knew. We never spoke a word to each other until the day the German equivalent of a SWAT team busted into his apartment when I was bringing home groceries. Three of them had my reap mark. They died within ten minutes of breaking into the Soldier's apartment. Steve watched me reap them.

A reap is simple. I take my gloves off and touch any exposed skin on the person being reaped. Almost instantaneously, this person will die, as their soul leaves their body and moves to whatever comes next. There's never any evidence of my reaping, it's like I was never there. Usually, if I see a reap on the street, it's a simple touch and leave. But this time, it was different. I'd had to tackle one of them in order to get close enough to touch them. After reaping three people, I felt compelled to follow Steve and the Soldier- Bucky, because I assumed there would be more reaps. I wasn't wrong.

After being caught and stuck in a room that resembled a human fishbowl with Steve and two other people, I was confronted. There is literally no explanation in the world that makes sense of how I can literally touch someone and cause them to die. This fact made for some awkward stammering as I fumbled to hide my life from Steve and his friends. Eventually, someone took pity on me and let me go home.

Three days later, Steve and Bucky knocked on my door. Steve had a barely there reap mark. I had to follow them to Germany, and then Siberia, waiting for Steve's mark to darken and hold the value it needed.

When it was solidly visible to me, I considered my decision. In the short time I'd known Steve, I grew attached. In another life, we would have dated... maybe even gotten married and started a family. But in this life, in this moment, I was supposed to kill him. So I ran. I reaped five other people instead, five people who had marks that showed up in mere seconds. And then, a month later in Wakanda, I had to face the reap I refused to do.

Steve figured out what I was and why I ran, and called me to him so I could correct my decision. But his mark was gone. 

I stuck around, reaping individuals in hospitals that were suffering. Then, one day, I was called to the castle again to speak with Bucky after they woke him from cryo and attempted to undo what HYDRA had done. Steve's mark appeared again as they read the words. Automatically, I stood and pushed my way into the room behind the window, dropping my gloves to the ground.

I held him as his eyes closed, crying for the loss of a future that was purely imagined.


End file.
